What’s changing
At the centre of the plan is the “9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee,” a charge currently applied only when an employer files a fresh H-1B or L-1 petition, or when a worker switches employers.
Under the proposed rule, first published by the Department of Homeland Security in 2024 and now listed as a pending final-rule item in the administration’s 2026 Unified Regulatory Agenda, that same fee would also apply to routine extension petitions, meaning employers could be charged every time a worker’s visa comes up for renewal, not just at the initial filing.
The fee currently stands at $4,000 for H-1B petitions and $4,500 for L-1 petitions, and would apply to companies with 50 or more US employees where more than half the workforce holds H-1B or L-1 status. DHS estimates the expanded fee could generate roughly $157.3 million a year, and has framed the move as closing a loophole that let companies avoid the surcharge simply by keeping the same employee on staff rather than transferring them.
Also Read: Trump says deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday
This proposal is separate from the $100,000 H-1B fee the administration attempted to impose on new visas, which was struck down by a lower court and remains blocked after a federal appeals court declined to intervene.
Why Indians are especially exposed
H-1B visas typically run for up to three years and are commonly renewed for a second term, meaning long-tenured foreign employees would be hit by the fee more than once over their careers. USCIS data shows Indian nationals accounted for roughly 226,000 of the H-1B extensions approved in fiscal 2025 — about 77.6% of all such approvals — far outpacing the next-largest group, workers from China.
Large employers with heavy reliance on Indian talent, including Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, were among the top recipients of continuing-employment H-1B approvals last year, according to the National Foundation for American Policy.What happens next
The rule has not been finalised, and no effective date has been set. It still needs to clear the federal rulemaking process, with a final version expected from the Office of Management and Budget in the coming weeks. Until then, current fee structures remain unchanged.
Also Read: Trump administration drafting ban on Chinese data center devices: Reports